On September 13, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit issued a ruling in the case of Douglas Carlson vs. the Postal Regulatory Commission.
In January 2019, the Postal Service increased the price of first-class stamps by five cents. Mr. Carlson challenged this price hike, claiming it to be inconsistent with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The Court agreed and ruled in favor of Mr. Carlson.
In the ruling, the Court stated, “We conclude that this stamp price hike violated the APA because the Commission failed to consider the relevant policies of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), particularly those raised in the public comments. We therefore grant Carlson’s petition for review, vacating the part of Order 4875 that includes the stamp price hike and the rate adjustments to the category of first-class mail.”
This ruling will have no immediate impact as the Department of Justice has 45 days to request reconsideration, which is likely to happen.
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